Newsletters
Ravenscroft Nursery School
Information for Parents regarding Educational Visits & Outings
· Our Educational Outings and visits are carefully planned in advance
· Buses are booked and checked in advance
· Visit made to venue made prior to outing
· Risk assessment carried out for each outing/venue
· Parents sign permission for each individual outing
· Adult child ratio of no fewer than 1:4
· Children requiring additional support will have a 1:1 adult- occasionally this may mean a parent being asked to accompany the class group.
· Children are toileted (and often have snack) before departing from school for the outing
· Children wear school coats and high vis jackets leaving the school /whilst on outings
· Children remain in class groups- line up in pairs with adult volunteers/staff holding the hands of 2 children and 2 children holding hands with each other. When walking near roads, adults will take the outside of the footpath and children link hands.
· Each adult volunteer/staff member will be given the names of children in their outing group and staff ensure that children and volunteers are introduced to each other.
· Principal/teacher briefs parent volunteers first prior to leaving the school building
· Bus boarding is done slowly and carefully- one staff member boards the bus, one parent volunteer supervises the step up onto the bus. Children are settled into their seats from the back to the front.
· One staff member remains outside the bus until all children have boarded.
· When all children are safely seated, staff will ensure that all children have their seatbelt secured.
· Mrs Fayle & Mrs Symington then do a headcount back to front, front to back, then swap.
· Disembarkation is done in a similar manner except in reverse.
· All children are instructed to stay seated well back on their seat throughout the journey.
· Children may not remove their seatbelts until the bus has come to a complete standstill- this instruction is clearly conveyed to the children prior to stopping.
· Whilst on trips/outings, class groups stay together under the supervision of the class teacher- one staff member remains at the front/head of the group and one staff member remains at the rear of the group to ensure it stays together- additional staff are interspersed at equal distance throughout the class group and alerts other staff members if they observe anything untoward happening in the class line in front of them.
· Occasionally, the nature of the venue and the number of staff and volunteers available made it possible to allow the children freedom to explore- for example, W5 and Mo Molam Park at Stormont are self contained, with one entrance/exit which can be supervised by a staff member. Staff members/parent volunteers are evenly distributed throughout the venue in such scenarios.
· Only permanent staff members may attend to an ill/injured child or toilet a child/take child to toilet
· Staff carry spare clothes, medicines, contact numbers and a school mobile phone in case of toileting mishaps or emergencies
· If a child becomes unwell or is injured during an outing, appropriate help is sought and parents are contacted.
· Headcounts are done regularly throughout the outing
· Photographs are generally available on the school website following each outing- we text parents to advise them that the photo gallery has been updated.
· Staff do not/will not permit members of the general public to photograph the children.
· Staff members at receiving venues will only be permitted to photograph (no videos permitted) Ravenscroft Nursery School Children with prior agreement/permission of the school.
Newsletter
December 2016
The programme and activities during December are centred around the excitement and enjoyment of Christmas so there is plenty of glitter, shiny things and red and green in use. Our aim remains, of course to provide good learning opportunities for all the children.
NEWS
Applications for P1 are available online (25th November) www.eani.org.uk/admissions or can be collected from local primary schools.
Application forms for nursery are available online (25th November) www.eani.org.uk/admissions or by calling in person to school. Closing date for applications is Wednesday 11th January at 12 noon.
Fundraising
CHRISTMAS MOVIE NIGHT
On Wednesday 14th December we will be having a ‘Christmas Movie’ Night in our Nursery. Time 5.30-7.30pm. Please come along and enjoy watching a movie on our big screen with your family in a warm, relaxed and child friendly environment. Tickets are available to purchase from your class teacher- Family ticket £6.00
SING-A –LONG
The Children will be having a festive ‘Sing-a-long’ on Thursday 15th December at Connswater Shopping Centre between 11am and 12pm, and we hope to raise some money for our school. We would love to see you there! Please spread the word to family and friends to come along and support our Nursery School J
FRIDGE MAGNETS
We will be selling photograph fridge magnets. They will have a beautiful photo of your child and make excellent stocking fillers. Price £2 each. If you wish to place an order, please let your teacher know asap.
There are a few special events that have been arranged, as follows:
THURSDAY 1ST DECEMBER
Visit from Santa’s E.L.F. (Environmental Litter Friend), who will discuss environmental issues with the children
WEDNESDAY 7TH DECEMBER
Monkeynastics at the Walkway Centre
OPEN EVENING WEDNESDAY 7TH DECEMBER
We will be holding an Open Evening from 6.30 – 7.30pm for parents interested in sending their child to Ravenscroft next year. Please pass on this information to anyone interested.
MONDAY 12th DECEMBER
The Principal and staff of Elmgrove Primary School (Old Avoniel Site) have most kindly invited our children to view a performance of the KS1 Christmas show. Please leave your child with a member of nursery staff between 9.00 and 9.15am at the front entrance of Elmgrove. Let Mrs Symington know if you wish to stay for the concert. We will return by bus to nursery for dinners.
WEDNESDAY 14TH DECEMBER
Monkeynastixs at the Walkway Centre
Christmas Dinner” provided by school meals. We try to make this a special meal time by decorating the tables, having crackers and Xmas music
Christmas Movie Night – Family tickets £6.00
THURSDAY 15TH DECEMBER
Sing-a-long at Connswater Shopping Centre
MONDAY 19TH DECEMBER
You are invited to watch the Christmas nativity concert performed by the children of Ravenscroft at 11.00am.
TUESDAY 20TH DECEMBER
Last day of term. Christmas party for the children, AND Santas Grotto. No uniform!
School finishes at 11.30am (no dinner).
The school opens again on Tuesday 3rd at 9.00am.
Don’t forget to keep your Christmas cards/stamps and we will recycle them.